par Dag Houdmont, Doctorant en littérature, ULB

Foucault describes heterotopia as a societal outer place or counterplace that is simultaneously connected with and stands apart from this society. As such, heterotopias can be seen as mirrors that provoke thought on or give insight into this society. In their lukewarm urge to leave home and ancestry -or are they being gently pushed away from it?- protagonists in Lanoye’s prose do not get far in their quest for utopia, if they ever genuinely aimed for it in the first place. They are torn apart between, on the one hand, an urge to flee and distance themselves from their homotopia where mêmeté rules and alterity is denied, and, on the other hand, a need to be part of, or even central in their origins. As such, they end up in intermediate spaces. Some of them are archetypical heterotopia as circusses, sauna’s or cemetaries. Others are 'non-places' as transit or limbo, offering the protagonists nowhere to go, nor returning to the homotopia nor setting of in pursuit of a utopia. This ‘inbetweeness’ is first identitarian focus of five. Parallel to this first and as an elaboration from the concept of heterotopia, the following four other identitarian focuses were distinguished: (1) the mother as a heterotopia in a predominantly paternalistic society; (2) doppelgängers as a heterotopia; (3) being a writer, often presented as jesters, both holding up mirrors to society from an societal outer place; (4) gay orientation as a gender heterotopia. This last focus should be pictured as a horizontal bar, intersecting with the four other focuses. These intersections are central to this Phd-research, this presentation will briefly touch upon the intersection between the first focus and the genre focus. These five focus of identity and thus, these five kinds of heterotopia are strongly intertwined and might be connected by one fundamental logic. Dag Houdmont a étudié les langues et littératures germaniques (anglais-néerlandais) à l'université de Gand. Après avoir travailler dans le monde du théâtre et la presse, il a enseigné à Bruxelles, Lille, Namur, Louvain-la-Neuve et de nouveau à Bruxelles. Depuis 2011, il est assistant en littérature néerlandaise à l'ULB. Il s'intéresse surtout pour le théâtre contemporain, short stories, l'imagologie et travel writing. Depuis 2015, il prépare une thèse sur l'identité chez Tom Lanoye, auteur belge néerlandophone. L'analyse est basée sur le concept de hétérotopie de Michel Foucault; une partie de la thèse portera sur l'identité de genre. Jeudi 15 novembre de 12h15 à 14h Salle de réception (3^e étage) Maison des Sciences Humaines – Bâtiment R Avenue Antoine Depage 1 1050 Bruxelles Entrée libre sans inscription